I can give you my opinion on the plastic Aladdin Tea Infuser Mug. I have had mine for a few years now. I love it because the basket for the tea is on a little lever, so you can raise it back up out of the water when you are done brewing it without opening it and making a mess. Great for when you are out! I got one for my sister before I got mine and the basket in hers kept dropping down. Mine made a clicking noise when I raised it all the way up, while hers did not. I complained to the company and they sent us a whole new mug with lid so I get the feeling the earlier ones had some bugs they worked out. I like that it’s plastic which means I can see my tea and it doesn’t have the weight of glass. The only down side I have found is that the basket is on the small side. If you like your tea strong or are drinking something that expands a bit, there may not be enough room for the leaves to uncurl. Even with that issue I really like my mug for having tea when I go out and would buy it again.

Yeah, I’m on my third glass mug (one from Teavana, and this is my second from David’s). They’re sturdier than they look, and so far I’ve been fortunate that the two I’ve broken have both just broken the inner chamber, not totally shattered, but they’re still delicate. I wouldn’t give mine up, though.

I believe Koozio is the Timolino manufacturer, and they have other Timolino styles (including ones with carabiner lids for clipping to your backpack/bag) and colours besides what DAVIDs offers.

These mugs are STURDY and keep drinks hot/cold for HOURS!!!! I’ve had hot stuff stay hot for almost 12 hours, and cold stuff still have ice in it 8 hours later. I am also the only person as far as DAVIDs staff knows to have managed to destroy a Timolino (entirely by accident mind you), and it took running over it with the work van from my old job (the size of a short HandiDart bus) to smoosh it, and even then it flattened without cracking/splitting. The lid even stayed intact – it just popped right off with a BANG.

As for the silicone holding smells, yes it does, but it’s nothing a soak in baking soda (or cream or tartar) and water hasn’t managed to fix for me, and I drink things like Lapsang Souchong regularly.

My only gripe about its design is that I wish the steeping basket didn’t go around the drinking holes. If I want to take a sip of what i’m steeping, smaller leaves come through the drinking holes, and it’s unpleasant. the mesh of the basket itself is nice and fine, so most of the time if I’m making something herbal/rooibos, I drop the leaves in the body of the timolino and use the steeping basket as more of a filter. The drinking holes are, however, small enough to keep Oolong leaves in the cup without use of the basket, so I usually don’t use the basket at all, and drop the oolong leaves right into the cup. that way, I can keep adding water and get the most out of my leaves.

all in all, i have to say it’s worth the money. as long as the silicone rings are in place, the tumbler is totally leakproof, which is one of the biggest reasons I got one in the first place. I LOVE my Timolino and would be pretty lost without it at this point.

But it is really hard to clean so I can’t shake the flavors from various teas I’ve steeped in there. If you are only putting one type of tea in it, I would recommend it. It is very durable and keeps the tea hot for a long time.. I loved it at first but now it just messes with the flavor of my tea.